Thomas Love Peacock 
Headlong Hall (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) 

Headlong Hall, originally published in 1815, works less to tell a story than to present interesting characters satirically discussing the thoughts and movements of their time. The affable Squire Headlong conducts discussions among his intellectual friends—such as Mr. Foster, Mr. Escot, Mr. Jenkinson—who range from one extreme to the other on all topics. 

About the author

Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866) was an English novelist and poet, an intimate of Shelley and other Romantic poets.  His best-known novel, Nightmare Abbey (1818), was a satire of gothic novels and the Romantic movement.  His death had a certain tragic irony:  he succumbed to injuries sustained while attempting to rescue his books from a fire.